Travel
Scotland: Edinburgh, Shetland, and Skye
A few weeks ago, Janine Bajus and I led one of our textile tours to Scotland. Janine had been many times, but I had never been. Everyone who has been talks about what an amazing and transformative place it is, and they are right. I can’t wait to go back.
Edinburgh
Two hours after I landed, I was full of tea and at the Royal Scottish Academy seeing the Andy Goldsworthy retrospective. I was greeted with cascading fleece in the entryway. A work made of bits of wool he picked up from the ground and from fences and connected with thorns.
Ginger Twist is a wonderfully curated yarn and fabric shop. All of the yarns you see on the right side of the photo are their own, in a tantalizing rainbow of colors, they also carry Merchant and Mills fabrics. Only my jet lag kept me from leaving with half of the store
Di Gilpin
Our second day we drove to Di Gilpin’s new studio, The Wool Hoose, to have a class on gansey knitting with Di and Sheila Greenwell. The pair wrote The Gansey Knitting Sourcebook, the best resource for gansey knitting that I’ve found.
I’ll admit I did more shopping than knitting. I fell head over heels for Di’s yarn Lalland Lambswool. After 40 years in the fashion and fiber industry, Di knows how to construct a perfect yarn.
Shetland
We spent five days on Shetland right before Shetland Wool Week. The entire island was getting ready for the celebrations, but folks were gracious and took time to meet with us.
At Neilanell I was reminded that not all knitting on Shetland is Fair Isle and lace. This shop is packed with modern machine knit sweaters and accessories in vibrant colors and textures. [Editors’ note: You might recognize some of Neilanell’s models from the pages of MDK!)
One of the highlights for me was getting to visit the Unst Heritage Center, where we were greeted with a remarkable array of knitted history, tea, and several kind Shetlanders willing to teach us how to use knitting belts. There’s a learning curve and Minnie was very kind with my fumble-fingers.
Donna Smith has a masterful way with natural dyes, she gets amazing depth of shade and variations of color. When we visited her, she let us peek into her dye journal. She also forages most of her dye stuffs on the island.
There is beautiful knitting and craft work everywhere we went in Shetland. These were taken at a small café in a community center where we stopped at for tea.
Another once in a lifetime moment for me was meeting Oliver Henry at the Woolbrokers, a.k.a Jamieson and Smith. Oliver gave us a tour of their fleece barn and told us the history of his work with Shetland wool. We also visited the shop. I’ve never seen all the colors of Jamieson and Smith in one place and it was overwhelming. The colorwork knitters among us returned to the shop more than once.
We were lucky to take a lace knitting class with Elizabeth Johnston, who is as funny as she is talented. Janette Budge gave a talk on choosing colors for Fair Isle and her history of designing. She also gave us the secret to using a knitting belt if you are a picker: use the belt on your left hip.
Skye
After Shetland we moved to the Isle of Skye. Where Shetland was ocean and views that went on for miles, Skye is mountains and rushing rivers.
Island on the Edge is a croft that is completely off the grid, running the entire croft on solar power and raising rare and native breed sheep. (Ann Hood wrote about this wonder for MDK.)
If you even have the chance to take a Dorset Button class from Tania, aka TJ Frog, please do it. She is a detailed and passionate teacher. Even though our class was at night after a long day, every single person in class got the hang of these addictive buttons.
Our trip was winding down. As we headed back to Edinburgh, we were sure we all had enough yarn, until we walked through the door of Shilasdair Yarns.
Shilasdair Yarns is run by natural dyer, Kirsty, and her husband Simon, who is also a chef. No one in Scotland has just one job. Her shop is a jewel box of joy.
How many fiber bucket lists items can a woman check off in one trip? A visit to the world-renowned tapestry weaving studio, Dovecot Studios was another one for me. (A short video of these weavers at work.)
Built in a Victorian public swimming pool, the weavers work in what was the bottom of the pool, while the public can watch from the original balcony. It was mesmerizing to watch this ancient craft. Weavers work singularly or in groups depending on the size of a weaving.
Elsewhere in the building is a café, classrooms, and a second textile exhibit, the history of Ikea textiles was up when we visited.
Our last day we were free to wander Edinburgh. Books, scones, exhibits, and one last yarn shop filled my day. Kathy’s Knits is the yarn shop has been open longer than others in town. As you can see from the photo, never try to admit to the universe that you’ve bought enough yarn.
Kathy told me that the yarn shops in Edinburgh work collaboratively, each having their own specialty, and even organizing their days off to make sure there is always one shop open every day of the week. We should all work so well together!
If you would like to get on the information list for our next textile tours, click here and contact Jean.
I would love to know about the textile tours ! Sounds like it’s right up my alley.
Love your articles, always. Please keep them coming !
Yes! Your descriptions about the places you visited in Scotland made my eyes water! Thank you for this newsletter! Wow, I’d love to go on a tour as well. Please share information about any upcoming tours or a website!
Fantastic trip and the photos. Read about many of these places. Have seen Edinburgh but not the shops. Such a glory to see so much on your trip and for you to share with us! Thanks so much!
Yes, please reinstate email for tour info! Thank you!
Here’s Jean’s email je**@*************ys.com
I think it’s blurred in the post to keep bots away.
Wonderful article!
Thank you for giving us a look at your tour. I can feel the joy of the trip through your words and pictures. Inspiring!
Who wouldn’t want to go! Thank you for sharing!
Terrific letter, Jillian!! I’m awestruck by all the beauty you were surrounded by. Yarn fumes are hazardous to the budget!!!
So wonderful, Jillian, thanks! What a cornucopia of yarnie experiences.
I would love to be on the tour list. Difficult with the email blurred out.
Just click on it!
I can’t wait to hear more about upcoming trips! Your time in all of these magical places ~tremendous!
loved the article and especially the photos. Thank you!
Would like to receive info about any future tours
Jillian, your beaming smile says it all ! Yes we’d all love to go too !
Hi Jillian! Just wanted to let you know of a few more places you might want to add to your next adventure to Scotland. I recently returned home from my 3rd fiber + adventure & three of my favorite stops (all 3 for the second time!) are Ardalanish Weavers on the Isle of Mull, Kitchen Coos & Ewes in the south of Scotland where you can meet some of the most beautiful Highland Coos & have a most lovely tea, & of course The Great Tapestry Of Scotland in Galashiels.
I love learning from your trip of other amazing fiber related places to visit next time!
Thank you those are great ideas!
Loved your tour
Thanks
Such beautiful photos, you hit so many highlights!
I’m just back from my 5th trip to Shetland, went to Wool Week again. An earlier trip was with Janine and it was absolutely fabulous! If anyone is thinking of going with her, I highly recommend it. Skye looks gorgeous but I can’t get enough of the open vistas of Shetland and the warm welcoming people. Must go back! Soon!
Does anyone know what the pattern name is for the sweater hanging up in the picture on the right in the Di Gilpin shop? That looks amazing!
It appears to be the Shoowa retro sweater – pattern available at digilpin.com. I had less luck finding the patter for the hot pink sweater on the left!
Ah! As I was reading, I was hoping you’d get to Shilasdair! Kirsty and Simon are such a lovely couple. We stayed at their home–a lovely B&B and were treated to both Simon’s cooking (unbelievable!) and a tour of the dying pots and equipment in the back yard. They use local plants to dye their wool, and it is so very beautiful! Her shop is simply gorgeous. Definitely a favorite part of a magical time on the Isle of Skye!
My husband and sons were in Scotland a few years ago for the Open at St. Andrews. I stayed back to take care of all our furkids – plus, it was a good ‘guys’ trip and I knew my yarn shopping would take their precious golf time away. But they stopped in at Kathy’s Knits and brought home a lovely souvenir just for me. Hubs and I are planning a Scotland trip on our own and I can’t wait to browse there myself! (We are also going to Pittenweem.)
Funny, I’m still in England but I made a fabulous trip to Ginger twist in Edinburgh and it was a great yarn experience. Funky, modern but with all the modern yarns and ecruetramonts. Staff was wonderful, spent way too much money there. Only other shop that was as much fun was Loop in London. I finally get the gorgeous subdued colors in the Fair Isles matching the colors of Oct in the Highlands….greens, rusts, yellows and daps of deep greens and the blues against dusky blue purple skies of fall.
Oh Jillian, your happy, happy face! I’ve been to Ginger Twist, and Edinburgh, and Skye but Shetland is on my bucket list. You showed all my faves–Di Gilpin, and Dovecot Studioes, and Jamieson and Sons! My daughter just emmigrated to London and it is all I can do to not move to Scotland. The place is magical and your writing is pushing my decision in a positive direction!
My daughter has lived in Scotland over twenty years. I’ve visited many times and toured the Outer Hebrides. I can tell you this is NEW news. There were never this many yarn shops . My daughter lives in the village of Haddington, just outside Edinburgh. You can bet I’ll be wanting to take this in next time I go. Shilasdair! First time I visited them I was 50. I’m 76 now. The colors walking in to their little shop took my breath away. Thanks for this . It’s been a pleasure!
Interested in a fiber/ spinner/ tour of Scotland. Are the Hybrides Islands ever included?